Game ball



June 23, 1942. H.A GOLDSMITH 2,287,171

GAME BALL Fil-ed July 2o, 1939 VINVENFOR.v HUGO G0L aand/7W.

ATTORNEYJS,

Patented June 23,` 1942 GAME BALL Hugo Goldsmith, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Sport Products, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 20, 1939, Serial No. 285,571

1 Claim.

My invention relates to game balls and game ball covers and to a method of joining edge portions of the cover.

There has been some development in the art in inflatable game balls having thin cover sections of leather, fabric or other composition forming the cover for the ball wherein the sections are adhesively secured to the ball carcass or shell and wherein the edges of the sections are rolled or skived down to a tapering edge so that grooves are formed in the outer cover of the ball adjacent meeting edges of the sections.

In such construction the outer cover either is leather or is embossed or printed so that the outer surface resembles leather. The purpose of thinning or tapering, by skiving, the meeting edges of the sectors is to provide indented grooves which will facilitate holding, catching and throwing the game ball accurately. 'Ihe outer cover resembles the construction of a ball having a sewed cover wherein inwardly extending edges are stitched together and wherein grooves are formed at the inturned edges.

It is the object of my invention in a playing ball of the inatable class of game balls such as footballs, basketballs, volley balls, soccer balls and the like to provide covers formed by skiving the grain side of the edges of the cover sections, so that when thepsections are secured to the ball indented grooves at the edges of the sections will be provided which will assist the player in holding, catching and throwing the ball.

Heretofore, as far as I am advised, the formation of indented grooves has been accomplished by rolling or skiving the under skin side of the leather or other composition at the edges, creating a tapering effect.

Thus the grooves in the outer surface of the cover have outer surfaces which are continuations of the grain markings of the outer surface. By skiving the grain side of the edges of the cover sections, grooves having skin cut surfaces will be provided which offer great frictional resistance when the ball is grasped by the fingers.

It is a further object of my invention to provide, by skiving the grain side of the edges of the cover sections, indented grooves which may be stained, painted, enameled, burnished or otherwise treated in a manner which would not be adaptable for a surface which is either grained or waterprooied and consequently resistant to pigment application or other decorative treatment.

The foregoing objects and other objects to which reference will be made in the following description I accomplish in the manner described with reference to a typical game ball which I have illustrated in the drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a game ball manufactured in -accordance with my invention Fig. 2 is a sectional View along the lines 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a tool which may be used for indenting the grooves and treating the skin cut surfaces as suggested.

The playing ball has outer cover sections l having meeting edges which are skived on the grain surface as indicated at 2. As shown in Fig. 2 the carcass of the ball consists of an inner flexible wall 3 preferably molded from unvulcanized rubber and covered with fabric material 4 which is either embedded in the rubber or wound on the central rubber core after vulcanization. A coating of adhesive 5 secures the sections l in position.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a tool for indenting and compressing the walls of the grooves between the sections. The tool has a handle 6 with trunnion bearings 1 which journal a shaft 8 on which the indenting wheel 9 is mounted. After the cover sections are applied to the carcass of the ball the tool is preferably used to firmly indent the grooves between the sections. Then stain, paint, enamel or other ornamental liquid or semi-plastic material is applied with a brush or other suitable tool and the indenting tool is run along the grooves a second time to smooth out the coating which has been applied in the grooves.

'Ihe excess material which may be squeezed out on the grain surface of the ball may be easily wiped olf as the grain surface is not receptive to the ornamenting material.

The finished ball will have an ornamental appearance and the frictional grip for the fingers Within the grooves will be considerably increased.

Instead of applying stain or paint the skin cut walls of the grooves may be burnished or seared. In the latter event the indenting tool may be heated either in an oven or a resistance unit may be incorporated in the roller with suitable wires from a source of current connected to the resistance unit.

The indenting tool may not be used and the ball may be finished in a mold having angular ridges spaced therein so as to fit in the grooves between the sections.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A play or game ball having a carcass or body portion and a cover or casing for said carcass made up of a plurality of separate pieces of leather like material secured to said carcass by an adhesive, said material of said cover` pieces from the grain side of the pieces and the skin surfaces of the pieces secured to the carcass of the ball without distortion from the normal contour of the skin surfaces of the pieces when having an outer grain surface and an inner skin 5 applied to the ball.

surface, and said cover pieces having edge portions cut angularly at the edges of said pieces HUGO GOLDSMITH. 

